


Green and Purple Ketchup

by PuckerUpAndSmile



Category: Original Work
Genre: Army, Blood and Gore, F/M, Gen, Government Agencies, Government Conspiracy, Government Experimentation, M/M, Main Character is a little Insane, Virus, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, ketchup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-03
Updated: 2014-02-03
Packaged: 2018-01-11 01:45:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1167147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuckerUpAndSmile/pseuds/PuckerUpAndSmile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“On behalf of New, New Mexico, and the World, we thank you, you the strong and the brave men and  women who go over The Wall and risk life and death, for the safety of your families, friends and  strangers. May God bless you and keep you safe, He has gifted you with his touch. Do not allow it to waste. Unite us once again! Bring death and destruction to the Wanders over the Wall.”</p>
<p>                                                                                                 United World Councillor # 12 USA/Mexico<br/>                                                                                                                                 Blessing to Alpha 21<br/>                                                                                                                                  First Group – 09/16</p>
<p>                                                One Year & Four months after outbreak<br/>                                                    Outbreak Memorial Date - 05/2015</p>
            </blockquote>





	Green and Purple Ketchup

**Author's Note:**

> Well this story has been a long time in the making, original zombies yay! hope you all like, when the real gruesome stuff starts to come I'll give warning to those of the faint of heart, best of luck, let me know what you think!

 

_“On behalf of New, New Mexico, and the World, we thank you, you the strong and the brave men and women who go over The Wall and risk life and death, for the safety of your families, friends and strangers._

_May God bless you and keep you safe, He has gifted you with his touch. Do not allow it to waste. Unite us once again! Bring death and destruction to the Wanders over the Wall.”_

_United World Councilor # 12 USA/Mexico_

_Blessing to Alpha 21_

_First Group – 09/16_

**_One Year & Four months after outbreak_ **

**_Outbreak Memorial Date - 05/2015_ **

* * *

**_Chapter One – Rule #1 Make sure the dead stay dead._ **

* * *

****

**_04-2020-29_ **

****

Today it was the sand, the sudden need for a rest had us face to face.   _Too soon we meet again my arch enemy._ My eyes turned dark as I glared down at the quiet foe. _Trip me again and we will see who comes out on top._  I had the upper hand this time, I knew all of the sands dirty secrets – Best places where the quick sand liked to form, or where the golden hills clustered together just perfectly to entrap you in their deadly familiar mazes. Enough was enough and this trip home was going to be our last stand off. I was taking sandy dust trail off of our escape routes. Seeing an enemy coming a few miles in any direction was a great plus, but the sun dropped more of our cattle then most of the cities.

 

“Keegan!” a voice called to my left, causing our stare down to waver.  Sighing I looked to the voice, the caller had me huffing in annoyance as he made his way towards me. My brother the forever man with a plan. I smiled sweetly up at him as he neared. My annoyance disappearing under his dark scowl. _Did I miss one of his many commands?_ “Check the hills” His head nodded behind me and I sighed. _The cattle must need another rest._ I looked up to my brother nodding my confirmation.

 

Mitchel Andrew Potter, ladies and gents, a man of few words and more hand signs. His dark olive green glare seemed to lessen in a second. He used a hand to wipe back his tussled dark blonde locks, irritation coming right back as they fell forward.

 

“Someone is going to be needing a trim sooner rather than later Chewy” I laughed up at him, grabbing a long lock and placing it behind his ear. Mitch’s regular ridge exterior slacked and dare I say the boy even smiled down at me. He huffed suddenly, as if catching himself losing the stick in ass, straightened right back up and nudge me backwards. I handed over one of my many hair ties that rested along my right wrist. His lips twitched in his thanks and bushed half his hair back tying it quickly in a messy half pony tail, the whole time starring me down.

 

“Get going Keggers” he scowled. _Wow what a 180._ I gave him a salute that the Capt. would be proud of before twisting on my heels and looking at the large sand doom that would soon be my staircase. _Play nice_. I seemed to beg it.

 

Watching my footing as I tugged up the steep mound, my hands with well-trained precision un-hinged the dark plastic compound around my shoulder, and as I reached the top, my weapon was sitting loose in my grasp, it seemed to vibrate in its readiness.

 

Paying it no mind, I scanned the valley before me. The empty waste land. I looked ahead of the little group, our destination wasn’t noticeable yet. The meet up point where Hillary and Jonathon waited would be at least another hour walk, maybe two, depending on how the cattle felt.

 

My gaze traveled down, settling on our huddle cattle of at least 15. I sighed sadly, because when we got our info the group had started at 37, 12 were lost before we even got to the little worn down Arizona Town, Norfolk. The last 10 that we lost were scattered between getting them out of their hold ups –School-Police Station-Grocery Store…etc., etc., etc., and getting them in Sonoran’s blazing heat. _Matt’s little side mission to the city hall almost had us losing one of our own._ Then three long – hot - hours later we were here. Still in the dessert with another hour sitting on the clock.

 

I turned my gaze from the quiet cattle, watching my brother handing out water bottles here and there. The cattle took them without a thank you, gulping as much as they could before sending to someone beside them. Mitchel’s dark gaze keeping a close eye on them all.

 

“Excuse me?” a voice made me tear my gaze from my brother, I didn’t look to the speaker right away, taking a moment for a quick scan all around us and then looked down, sighing. “Excuse me?” they repeated. I nodded to the young man making his way up the steep sand mound. I wanted to ask what he was doing, that he should be down there resting with the rest of the cattle, but I stopped myself beforehand. _What can I say, my people skills weren’t too shabby_.

 

“Yeppers?” I asked him with a raised brow and wide grin. The kid, well man, couldn’t have been that much younger than me. 17 maybe 19. My gaze softened slightly as he looked around quickly and his fingers seemed to rub deep in the thin threads of his shirt, a known nervous twitch in each rub. His dark ebony locks were longer then my brother’s, brushing his shoulders, held straight down with the heavy weight of grease and grime. The boy probably hadn’t had a proper wash in a few years. I thanked my job for the hundredth time since starting.

 

“Who are you people?” The timid question wasn’t that surprising. His gaze was resting at his feet and then shifting to my bow and then back to his feet. I smiled slightly, my gaze once more settling on the group down below trying to catch my brother’s eyes.  He was a man of few words, but when he did talk usually they were the right ones. I was the opposite, I had too many words and they were always all wrong.

 

“You sent out a transmission a couple months back” I looked to him now, my brother was a lost cause. The boy nodded.

 

“Gabe got the radio working with a wind-up power motion.” He confirmed, his light blue gaze drifted towards the group below us as I nodded searching for who this Gabe was. “He didn’t make it out” was his answer to my silent question.

 

“So ya, it was a weak single but you guys weren’t too far from the wall, our bosses caught it and we got assigned to the case.” I shrugged as that it explained it all. My eyes drifted around our territory once more, I have to keep alert.

 

“So it’s real? The wall?” the boy gasped and I merrily nodded. _Is that?_ I waited for a moment, trying to catch any movement out behind us. _Nothing._ “How close were we? Why didn’t anyone else come for us? Others had left before going to the wall. Why has it taken so many years for you to come?” My gaze shifted back to him and his high tense tone.

 

“Whoa, you’ve gotta understand kid. The wall took almost two years to get up. Everyone over there were going crazy strict themselves, No one cross the wall anyway. Not without a Group’s clearance. That’s what we are.” I nodded towards my brother and three others below us. We were all decked in the sand toned military garbs, two of them below us were bulked up heavy with weaponry, while the man at the head of the group, one Captain Oscar Verra had a walkie on his belt beside his G18 and a Spas-12 strapped over his shoulder. My brother and I were the weightless of our group, he with two silver Desert Eagles strapped to his hips, and me with my bow Freddie, and Nancy the Sig Sauer GSR.

 

“Groups? What are those?” He asks looking from me to the rest of our party. “Aren’t you army?” I raise my brow and almost laugh, but held myself back, this kid was most likely 12 or 13 when the shit hit the fan, probably lived the white picket life too. _He didn’t know what was going on so cut him some slack Keekee and don’t go laughing in his face ya?_ I nod to myself, and then shake it quickly in the negative, talk about confusing the boy.

 

“No we aren’t army…well not all of us.” I nod my head back to the man in the front. He stood tall, towering over the cattle, straight as a pin. Dark hard chocolate eyes staring out into the emptiness daring for an attack. He was a rock solid wall, Verra was a silent menace to our enemy. Tough as nails and stubborn as a mule. Story with him…was well there wasn’t one really, nothing exciting. He was straight forward. When all went to hell he was one of the first five to have a group set up – all immune and waiting to save lives. They didn’t get to go over right away but when they did Verra’s team was one of the best. My team was one of the best. I smiled at the thought. _We kick ass._

 

“Mercenaries?” the boy whispers and his twitches come back. I shook my head again.

 

“No, slightly. But listen the world that you use to know. It’s changed a whole lot. Whatever is over the wall is what is left of the normal, you’ll be safe we are here to make sure of that. A Group is what were called, slight army, slight others. We all have jobs, Brutes are the heavy hitters” I say with a smile and point to the two heaviest armored of us. “That’s Matt, and October” The boy shifts his gaze to a slim woman, dark blonde hair tucked messily under a tan color cap. She was equipped with an M-16 strapped over one of her shoulder, a large knapsack, and three pistols-thigh strap-two hip. Lastly Matt, was up by the Capt. His large bag down by his feet, his M-16 held in his arms lightly. The two barrel shot gun and Katana were strapped over his back. The guy was annoying as nails on chalkboard, but miraculously he was talented with his little play sword. _That’s gotta be why Capt. keeps him around._

 

“Well what about you?” he looks at me nervous, and the same thoughts filter over his face as they do with everyone. –Too young…-Too small…-Too klutzy. And the list goes on, so I smile reassuringly up at him.

 

“Well my brother and I, we are the hounds.” I say, pause slightly to look again around our area. Because Hounds we are and I have to remember aside from entertaining the kid, I do have a job to do. “We track the single for Verra, we study the areas. In small we’re the map readers and the strategists.” My smile grows as the kid nods. He smiles slightly at me then plops in the sand at my feet. He looks worn out and tired, hungry most likely. I hand him my canteen and an energy bar from one of my many pockets. He nods in thanks.

 

I’m given a few moments, taking my time to look around. The sun looks to be almost ready to set, couple more hours and I wanna get every useful light left from it. I look to the front following Capt.’s gaze there is a sand cloud starting up, nothing big enough for a storm, just letting us know that company is on its way. I tense for a moment wondering if it’s backup with the buggies, or if it’s something worse, I look away and find light sky blue eyes looking up at me. October gives me thumbs up and a smile so she knows my worries and is giving me the ok, they are friendly. Thank goodness, this Cattle needs the ride, I don’t think they could make meet up point on time, or at all. So with my smile I turn around and take a look at our back.

 

“Shit” I mutter but the boy hears me and stills his eating. He looks to me then follows my gaze. He jumps to his feet nearly knocking me down with his long lean bony form, but luckily I catch myself. “Calm down she’s a few miles out and all by herself, I can nab her no worries.” I tell him. My bow the lightless weight in my hands for the past half hour is raised up in no time. Allowing the bow to rest in my left hand I raised my goggles with my right, the red tinted frames let me zoom in at the slight movement.

 

She was young and looked pretty fresh. Her pace was sluggish and not too far out, nothing more than a mile now. With a twist of my goggles and a little whirl from the gears I could see the dirt, torn and bloody garments she wore as she came over a sand hill arms raised and mouth a gaped. She gurgled with joy as we caught her attention. _Powerful sniffer that one._ A few more steps and she'd be within range. Smiling I raised my light baby up and he fell perfectly into my hands, fit like a glove. With a deep breath in, I preparing myself, registering the scope and the nasty monster in one, and with my breath out, came the release of my arrow.

 

The shine of hunger in her eyes was too much, it blocked out her end as she pushed her way forward hoping for another meal. I could hear the crunch of impact, and I watched her body jerk down with the force of the arrow, a disgusting display of wobbling limbs. I turned from the dead Deader and looked over my shoulder. The boy was just watching now, she was down for the count and once more we kept our word and he was safe, looking down the hill I rolled my eyes, and huffed in aggravation.

 

Matt was making his way up, a nasty sneer permanently on his lip. I almost laughed out right as his footing gave slightly half way up, but held myself back. _The enemy of my enemy is my friend_ I thought as the sand almost took Matt down again.

 

“How many out there Keegan” Matt growled at me as he finally made his way up, his glare heated as he looked to my smiling face and then lessened when he turned to check the open sandy hell before us. I looked to the ignored boy on the other side of Matt and shrugged my shoulder at my teammate’s manners. I turn back to my latest kill and held still for a moment waiting. A breeze tussled up some sand but that was it, nothing else, so I made my way down the hill and walked towards the nasty smelling body below, the boy gasped behind me, but I heard Matt snapping to him to get back with the others. Matt didn’t follow me. I pulled Nancy from my side and had her at the ready. Sometimes these buggers were smart and stilled, waiting for a meal to walk to them. _Lazy shits_

_She could have been a beauty queen once upon a time ago._ Sun kissed skin had turned a nasty pasty blue white, bleached blonde hair, I bet use to be shinny as the sun, and would have curled round her face perfectly, now it had fallen out in chunks since she became sickened, sunken hallow cheeks and decayed teeth completed her nasty look. Her clothing was all still there, though dirtied with blood, guts, and probably other body fluids I didn't care to think too much on. She was a young one, maybe a month old or so. Or she had eaten not that long ago. I tapped her with my boot, and her leg ripped from her body. 

I lean over yanking my arrow from her left eye socket. I take another look to the body and then the goo on my arrow. All at once the morbid thought enters my head and couldn’t be stopped from coming from my lips.

 

"Green and purple ketchup" I say with a full blown smile

 

"What?" a deep toned voice asked from behind me. Matt decide to tag along after all. I turn to him with a spin, my arrow-goo still attached- resting right before him, the man jumps back, sadly enough he held in his yelp, but his glare in retaliation was chilling.

 

“You know ketchup don’t you think it’s got a kind of resemblance?” I asked with an arch brow. He continues to glare his steel blue eyes hard and cold.

 

“You are such a child Keegan” he growled before turning and heading back to the hill to get back with the group. “A seriously insane child” he continued to mutter while I ran up beside him. Clapping his back, right between the sword’s and shotgun’s straps. I smiled brightly at him.

 

“Thanks” I rushed up the hill taking Mitch’s hand when he bent it down towards me. Catching me before the sand took me to my knees. _That’s it!_

 

“Hillary and Jo just arrive. Hill’s got most of the Cattle loaded on his buggy. Jonathon will be taking us, and” he paused nodding his head backward but still keeping his dark green orbs locked on my own. I tilt to the right to see behind my tall ass brother and sigh. “Your little shadow.” He smirks now and turns heading down to the dark black motor buggies, Hillary’s face is wrapped in a white cloth and black goggles rest over his eyes, holding the cloth tightly to his face. He wave as we make eye contact, I wave back and he’s got the engine started. The boy is now my attention, Hillary is gone from any of our sights in a matter of seconds, we all should reach Home no later than an hour now. I sigh with relief. I need a shower. 

 

“Why didn’t you go with the rest? Trust me our ride is gonna be a real tight ride…real tight, have you not seen some of their muscles!?” I can’t help but ask the boy before me. He looks nerves but is smiling slightly.

 

“Yes. But I well…” he seems to stutter slightly and his twitchy fingers are back. “You’re safe” he murmurs. His tanned face flushes full red when he takes his eyes from the sand and looks towards me, his gaze rest over my shoulder and he flushes dark. I almost laugh, but Mitch saves me the embarrassment with a nudge to my shoulder as he passes me. I sigh and nod to the boy before me.

 

“Well I’m Keegan nice to meet you…?” I let the word drag out letting him know I’m hoping for an answer. He looked slightly startled.

 

“Um… I am Maverick” he stuck his hand out for me to shake, I in return smiled slightly and shake it.

 

“Keekee get a move on it!” A commanding voice called before me. My face heated up. _Hold your horses!_ I want to call back, but rule #32 stops me cold. _Never talk back to one of Capt.’s commands._

 

“Well come along then Maverick, we can get you fed checked out and” I pause giving him a once over before smiling brightly. “Something called a shower!” He cracked a grin of his own slightly and allowed me to pull him towards Jonathon’s 5 seated buggy. I climb into the hellish ride and moments before Maverick and I could even settle, squeezed between my brother standing on the side, and Matt, we were off.

 

“Hold on tight, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride!” the dark skinned large toned man in the driver seat called out to us, his head tilted back looking over at Maverick. His grin widened as he locked eyes on me. A knowing gleam made me frown at him.

 

“Shut it Jo” I snapped at him. The driver laughed and pushed his foot down on the petal. Mavericks questioning gaze felt hot on the side of my face. But I ignored his questioning gaze and settled on grasping a handle to my right and my brother’s leg with my left. Didn’t need the dare devil falling out. _Home again soon._   I smiled at the though and nestled in the seat trying to find comfort in the wild ride.


End file.
